Career Corner - Great Impression in 60 Seconds

Career Corner: A Monthly Executive Search Firm News Article Series.

Great Impression in 60 SecondsMay 1st, 2006

You only get one shot to make a great first impression,
particularly in the business world. Don’t miss
your opportunity to start a productive, and profitable,
relationship with a business colleague or a client.

To make your best first impression in just 60 seconds
follow these tips from AllBusiness.com:

Business
image is important. The way you greet clients to
your style of dress reflects on you. Take time to consider
the image you are portraying. How do you greet clients?
What does your stationary say about you? How is your
office decorated? Where do you take a client for
a business lunch or cocktails?

Assess yourself
and analyze your image. Do you dress according to
the standards of your industry? Are your clothes professional?
Is your hair neat? What about your car? Are you in
a field where you’re likely to be judged
by what you drive? A realtor wouldn’t want
to ferry clients around in a battered Ford pickup
with torn seats and a broken muffler, but a landscape
artist could drive it to a work site and nobody would
bat an eye.

Marketing materials need to reflect your
image. Put marketing materials on the front lines
of your image-building efforts because they often
serve as your prospects’ first
introduction to you. Use high-quality paper, but
also consider using gold or silver embossing on your
letterhead or business cards, Treat everything you
do as gold, and your clients will, too.

Project a
professional image. Have someone proofread every
piece of written material before it leaves your office.
This means correspondence, proposals and marketing
pieces. Always be pleasant and helpful when answering
the phone. People like to do business with happy,
positive people.

Position yourself for success. Give
referrals when you can’t handle a job; people
will respect your honesty and consideration. Offer
a high quality of service and/or product. Do the job
you promised and don’t
let your customer down. Never disparage the competition.
It doesn’t look good and it could backfire.
When a client or colleague runs into a snag, assist
them; you may need them to refer the favor in the
future.